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Need some help on my recent addition to the FORD stable.
1959 Galaxie 500 292/2bbl, 3 spd manual. Optional heater.
The car has not run since the mid 70's. I installed all new plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, condensor and points. Rebuilt the carb. New fuel pump. Temp gas can for now.
When I turn key to "start" the starter engages and motor fires/runs but as soon as I let go of the key the motor shuts off. Figured ignition switch is bad so I replaced it with new and reinstalled the wires just as they appeared on the old switch.
Now when I turn key to "start" I get nothing. The "Gen" light comes on.
I also replaced the ballast resistor with a new one.
Car has new battery and a new cables from battery to block and battery to starter solenoid.
Starter cable and engine ground cable to body are original.
Help?
Thanks,
Dave
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when you say ballast resistor was it an actual part or was it a pink wire?? on these old ford cars there was no specific part, it was a wire that had resistance. If you now have both that would cut the voltage down to much. I would be checking into the main ignition wire and the bypass wire coming from the solenoid.
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Daze,
Thanks for the help! Enjoy the forum.
I will follow the wiring harness and look for said wire. I have heard about this "pink" wire. My friend at the parts store looked it up and said my model/year calls for the ballast resistor that I installed. It looks like a Mopar type. The wiring harness on the firewall has red and black wire leads with push-on terminal ends that are located directly under the vacuum wiper assembly. I think the previous owner had a problem with it before because the red and black wires were"temporarily" connected with a jumper wire. An old-looking resistor was in the trunk but it was not ceramic. It is a 3" long metal piece with a coil spring attached to the backside of it with an unknown substance inside the spring. The firewall wire harness does not look modified so I assumed a ballast resistor was meant to be there.
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its worth a look, I know the 61 had the pink wire but I am not sure about the 59. Also check the plug that goes on the end of the ignition switch. I have dealt with several cars where it seamed like the ignition switch was bad but the actual problem was corrosion on the plug that goes on the switch. If the connection was questionable, changing it might have eliminated the little bit of connection you had. Those plugs are hard to clean. you may need to replace it. Glad you like the forum, welcome aboard!!
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Okay- so I found the problem. The ignition switch had 2 wires attached on the wrong posts. I had replaced them axactly where they were before.
Car starts right up as intended!
Now for the bigger problem. The car has 81k miles on it and hasn't run in probably 30 or so years. I replaced plugs-etc. I changed the oil after running the car for about 10 minutes last night. Added about a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil to the new oil. Car starts right up but has a pronounced loud tapping or almost a knocking. If I rev the engine slightly it sometimes quiets down but comes back at idle. I think it burns oil as I noticed the dipstick level has gone down a little after running it for a good 20 minutes tonight.
Any possible chance it could just be a stuck valve or lifter or something? Is there another oil or intake product I can use to "free" up the valvetrain? If not, can I just do a top end rebuild? I found new main bearings,rings and some other new engine rebuild parts in the trunk. The new parts are sized for turning the crank which I would like to avoid.
Is there any EASY engine rebuild kit available? I would like to avoid the machine shop.
Thanks,
Dave
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is it missing or running rough?? If not I would say your lifters need to be adjusted. I would guess that in 59 the lifters were solid rather than hydraulic, and that means they need to be adjusted from time to time as part of routine maintenance. There is no such thing as an easy rebuild, BUT before even worrying about that you need to do a compression test to get a better idea exactly what kind of shape the engine is in. You may know how to do a compression test but if not here are some guidelines.
First do the test cold
1. remove all the spark plugs
2. bring the carburetor to the wide open throttle position and lock it there
3. Insert gage in to the first cylinder
4. crank the engine over for 5 bumps of the needle and record the result.
5. relieve gauge pressure and repeat step 4, two more times so you have 3 total reading at each cylinder
6. If you have a low reading in one or more cylinders, add a little oil to the cylinder being tested and repeat test. if compression comes up closer to the others the ring is bad
7. If you are still getting low readings repeat the test with the engine warmed up and if that doesn't fix it there is the possibility of valve issues
8. If you have two adjoining cylinders that have the same low reading there is probably a head or head gasket issue.
Do the test and get back to us and we should be able to give you a better idea of what you have to work with.
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